The Scent of Lavenders
by Pizzadone
Summary: One-shot about North America's devastating lack of Pokemon Bank. Since bank has come out, there's no need to finish. You can bask in bank's glow yourself.


There! You see it! It's not very tall, nor is it particularly interesting to look at, but the idea of it enthralls you for some reason. A tiny hole, in the empty black expanse of wall that has been holding you back for years. The crack slowly expands, mushrooming into a broad, shining spark of hope. Most everyone around you is familiar with the sensation. They look giddy, but also a little nervous. Some shield their eyes, not used to the light, but most simply let the warmth of it overtake them.

You've been boxed up and trapped in darkness for such a long time. You can almost taste freedom, the light of day, the smell of lavender and French pastries... all of it is opening up to you, all of it is drawing you in, making you feel so new, so alive! So much is there, right in front of you! You feel changed, different, like a new creature, as if your very being has taken on another dimension. Your aura rises up, threatens to spill over. The small rainbow scale clenched tightly in your palm almost breaks under the force that your nerves are stressing and pressing upon it.

Your brethren came from far-off Sinnoh, and they tell you that they had a friend just like you back there. The same warm, golden glow, the same inbred knack for battle, the same moves, in fact, the same level. But he was sent away for some reason. They said that he was sent overseas! You never knew where, of course, but it had to have been a hard adjustment for the poor thing.

_Ah well, that was his lot in life,_ you supposed. And this odd, pervading tingling sensation... it was yours.

Was this... some kind of evolution? No, it couldn't be. You'd never experienced it yourself, and it wasn't like what the others described.

_Who cares,_ you think, _I want to focus on this light._

IT caresses you for a moment longer, IT leaves its impression on you, IT imparts rather personal but enjoyable sensations you haven't felt since you hatched from the egg. You feel it all around you, tightening its grip, engulfing every thought of what you are, what you once were, and what you shall become. Everything coalesces in this moment, every thought, every second since your conception has led to-

IT is ripped away! The hole closes in an instant! Crashing can be heard, panicked screams echo, chaos ensues as your friends bang and scream and attack the wall, spreading embers and lightning bolts and dark spheres of energy. Steel clangs, grunts and squeals erupt, even the ground quakes as some of the best in combat reach the door and race to prop it back open. But the hole is closed, and only the same, unbreakable wall remains before them.

IT leaves, just like that! You feel as if something wonderful was stolen from you. You don't know what to do. Clearly this isn't normal, clearly this isn't right, something has happened, someone has robbed the plentiful vault of happiness, the very bank of life ripped from your hands.

But what? What has taken it away? The light, the fragrant smells, the little perks of laughter? Where did they go?

_When will they come back?_

Someone must have some idea of what is happening... otherwise they wouldn't have all reacted in this way. You sense that some of the other Unova natives are waiting, dumbstruck, like you are. They never knew what to expect, nor what to do, so now they wait. Maybe you should wait too.

* * *

A week passes. Your companions are back in their places. They only ever left their little squares of space to attack that wall. But they soon gave up, and they even sooner warped back in their places. You cannot normally leave your little black square of space anyway, and you just don't want to. The floor is divided so that everyone has an equal amount of space. Although, you must admit, it's not always enough for everyone.

Dialga pokes his head out of his from time to time so that he doesn't have to always bend his neck, but then Palkia hits him over the head with a sharp talon in response. He needs that space just as much. Master Arceus never seems to be bothered by his own awkward stance, but it looks so painful to always have to contort your body into a perfect square, knees bent awkwardly outward and head bowed as if chained to the floor. For a God to have to do these things... It maddens you. You wish they could roam free, wish you give the deities the room they so desperately deserve. But the truth is that you are just as powerless here as they are. Attacks don't seem to break things or make others faint, in this odd world. It was not of your creation, not of Pokemon kind's, but of humans'.

And where is that other human, your master? A cheeky girl in scandalous shorts far too short for her long legs. She wears her hair in an odd, extravagant style that never changes. How she does it is beyond you. How she stands it, trekking through mud or through icy mountain slopes, is even more confusing. Why does she have this power? Did she steal it from your Gods? No, they don't seem to hate her. Rather, they seem to respect her. After all, she holds several strange relics of power, and she bent all of nature's wills to hers. One girl, in the possession of all of life's finest creations? Unthinkable.

Just as unthinkable as the anomaly last week. Everyone tells you that "we'll hear news soon," but with each passing day, your hopes fade. How can they all hang on to this hope? Maybe it is because they understand that breach in the wall, what it meant, what it signified. You can't get anyone to explain it to you, but they insist that it is good. You can't deny that you liked the feeling, but now it also scares you. Before, you were simply thrust into it. What if you have some kind of choice next time? What if your fear, your anxiety that is building up each day, holds you back? How can you go on?

_I can't, I won't do it again. What if it... what if it's a big stomach like a Dusknoir's? Or worse, a huge black hole that kills me? It could be all number of traps, tricks, nasty things designed to lull me into a sense of security and then devour me whole. _How could you possibly trust it?

* * *

Another week passes. Everyone whispers things, things not meant to be heard by the Unovan Pokemon, but overheard anyway. They say things like "bank soon..." and "Nintendo direct." But what are they? You've no idea. Each day new rumors, new fads circulate. But where did they come from? None seem reliable. The words "Give Bank" are especially popular. You watch slowly as the once stoic and bravest warriors all succumb to fear and desperation. Dialga's attempts to straighten up grow more frequent, as Palkia's retaliation becomes more severe.

Soon you discover that some of the adept psychics are in communication with your master. Gallade tells the various Sinnohans and Hoenn-Natives about something called "Reddit." You've never heard of it, but they say that it will be the first to let you know about IT. That warm light means something else now, to the assorted pokemon waiting in this captivity. It means life and freedom. It means a chance to battle again. You've never battled but you know that it is supposed to be very fun.

* * *

Now you're sure. It's been three long weeks since the light came, and you don't think it will come again. You know everyone around you is becoming insane. Ignorance has shielded you from this insanity, but has done nothing to placate your curiosity. What is it that the psychics are in contact with, and why does everyone want to keep it such a secret? Your few fellow Unovans have seemed to latch on to the knowledge in bits and pieces, but have not shared their individual ideas. You can do nothing but stand proud on your little square of space and hope that you'll overhear some news.

* * *

"IT'S OUT IN JAPAN! IT'S OUT IN JAPAN!" Gallade shouts over the din the next day. IT has apparently made a reappearance, and this has overjoyed all of your compatriots. But what is Japan? You've never been there, nor are you familiar with it. But you must get there somehow, you have to try. You reach put with your aura powers and try to sense lands far beyond the confines of your box. But of course, you can't, as you are inexperienced and unfamiliar with anything besides this box or your ball. Reason tells you that you'll get out soon, your answer will come. It displeases you that you can't understand this phenomena but you are trying.

* * *

Today is the day. A full month. All of the Pokemon that had hope before are now... giving up. It's official to them, IT will never come back again. Some of them tried to commit suicide but nobody was able to it. You know that Pokemon can only faint... don't they? You're over it, everything is the way it was and you've been used to it for years. Why should you care what the older Pokemon, the very Gods of your race, why should you care what they do?

You're bitter, you seclude yourself even more from the outside, if that is even possible. You think only of your aura and you try training it. The work will be slow, it will be painful, but at least it's something. And hey, if it works, maybe you can figure out how to get out without needing that crack in the wall.

* * *

It's been a very long, undisclosed amount of time. You stopped keeping track 3000 years ago. You're the only one with any sanity left. The others have all died inside, from lack of hope and lack of contact with the outside world. Your aura has saved you from that cruel fate; you can see all throughout the many worlds and anywhere you so desire, so you can live an entirely different life by simply witnessing it. You've traveled to Hoenn, and Reddit, and Kanto, and Sinnoh, everywhere you want to go is open to you, and you have all the time in the world to live these other lives. You once followed a Zorua from her captive birth to her release into the wild; she became your love interest for a while. But you can't actually be with her, so what's the point? You followed a young boy's struggle as he defeated a notorious criminal organization. You even followed your old trainer for a while, until her death. That was right when you first came into your powers. You remember how badly it scarred you. You cannot unsee her demise anytime soon. But you can drown it in other memories, happy ones. Your aura lets you ebb and flow through the myriad of places on a whim, and the raw power is enough to distract you.

The other pokemon only talk in broken speech, and Gallade is the worst. His psychic skills don't let him see things the way you can, he can only remain in his consciousness, whereas you can become virtually anyone else at will. He can go anywhere he is familiar with, meaning he has very few options and thus not enough of an escape to avoid insanity. You don't care a whole lot for his ramblings, but sometimes, when you want a glimpse into the life surrounding you, you tap into his thoughts. They are horrifying.

"PLEASE UNDERSTAND!" he shouts most often. "THE E-SHOP UPDATES THIS THURSDAY, WE CAN MAKE IT! WAIT A LITTLE LONGER!"

* * *

You are done waiting. You need to live again, you need to escape, truly. You long for the caress of the wind, the lovely smells, the light and the feelings that came with that one aperture in the wall. You feel it deep down, all of your suppressed strength is at your disposal, it longs to escape, too. You know you can do it, you know you can break that wall with your aura powers. You feel IT! YOU FEEL IT!

Your fist rockets outward, your tense body springs up at your command, you FEEL IT! You're done being forced into this tiny space! You're done seeing your Gods suffer! YOU ARE DONE! You will not wait! YOU WON'T! Your palm connects with the cool, rock-like wall. All of the senseless babbling around you ceases within an instant, everything breaks away around you, everything disperses and displaces and separates and leaves you with a sense of awe. The world around you, it threatens to rear back- but it stays put. Little streams in the floor and ceiling and right behind you glisten red, like fire, but the wall in front of you is a different sight to behold altogether. The place where your fist hit... well, you don't have much of a fist anymore. It's more of a bloody stump. But the wall took the worst blow. It is shattered, it is broken, and the cherise spring from your arm is leaking out somewhere warm, and pleasant, which smells of lavender. You smell everything that was denied those years ago, everything that was withheld, everything that drove your Gods and friends into insanity. IT is open, the door to the vault is no longer locked, your store, no, bank of happiness has been returned.

And having opened the gate for your companions, you slump to the ground, exhausted. but you know your sacrifice is not in vain. You know you've taken a step into the future. And that one step was all you wanted.


End file.
